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PREVIEW: Scottish Cup Semi-Finals

A look ahead to this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park as Championship rivals Hibernian and Falkirk lock horns on Saturday while Celtic face fellow Premiership side Inverness on Sunday

Two down: Hibernian have won both previous Scottish Cup meetings with Falkirk in 2006 and 2013 (Picture from Sky Sports)

HIBERNIAN are seeking to book a place in the Scottish Cup Final for the third time in four years when facing Championship rivals Falkirk in the first of the semi-finals on Saturday.

Two-time winners Hibs – who were runners-up in both 2012 and 2013 following heavy defeats to Hearts and Celtic – are still looking to win the competition for the first time since 1902.

Falkirk have also lifted the trophy twice – the last being back in 1957 – although they lost 1-0 to Rangers in the 2009 Final.

The Bairns boss guided Dundee United to Scottish Cup glory at Hampden Park in 2010 (Picture from BBC ALBA)

Houston’s preparation has been meticulous – naming his team on Thursday and booking the same hotel that Dundee United stayed in before their 3-0 win over Ross County in the Scottish Cup Final five years ago.

Following the collapse two years ago, Falkirk – who also reached the 2012 League Cup semi-finals – will be desperate for revenge against a Hibs side who have a 113-year itch to scratch as far as this competition is concerned.

TEAM NEWS:

Hibernian are unlikely to make wholesale changes from last weekend’s 2-0 win over Hearts.

Falkirk are set to be without 12-goal top scorer Rory Loy who has not played in eight games since bruising a bone in the quarter-final win over Queen of the South.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:

MATCH OFFICIALS:

The man in charge: Beaton, 34, was in the middle for the Ramsdens Cup Final between Livingston and Falkirk earlier this month (Picture from BT Sport)

Pumped up: Celtic captain Scott Brown – who was booked for diving against Inverness last weekend – will be key to his side’s chances of bossing the midfield (Picture from BBC)

CELTIC will be looking to reach their second cup final of the season when up against fellow Scottish Premiership side Inverness Caley Thistle.

Ronny Deila’s Hoops – who are chasing a first domestic treble since 2001 – lifted the League Cup last month after beating 10-man Dundee United 2-0 in the final.

The Highlanders, meanwhile, are seeking to book the first Scottish Cup Final appearance of their 21-year history a year after their first ever major final in the League Cup which ended in a penalty shoot-out loss to Aberdeen at Celtic Park.

The sides met as recently as last weekend in a 1-1 draw in the Highlands which saw two goals in the first four minutes with Leigh Griffiths’ opener for the visitors immediately cancelled out by Caley Thistle striker Edward Ofore.

Previous experience: The former Hibs boss – who has been Inverness boss since December 2013 – led Falkirk to the 2009 Scottish Cup Final (Picture from Sky Sports)

The Bhoys – who are eight points clear at the top-flight summit with five games left – are 21 points and two places above Inverness in the table.

But after last Saturday’s result, Caley Thistle have taken four points from a possible nine in the league against Celtic following a 1-0 home win back in August despite their 1-0 reverse at Parkhead in November.

The two teams will also lock horns again a week before the Scottish Cup Final on the last day of the Premiership campaign in Glasgow when Celtic – on the verge of being crowned champions for the fourth successive season – are widely expected to receive the trophy.

It will be the first Scottish Cup meeting since Celtic’s 2-0 win in the Highlands in February 2012 (Picture from BBC)

The Hoops have won all but two of their 19 league and cup games in the calendar year – including four of their last five Premiership matches – although they have conceded in each of the last two having kept five clean sheets in a row before that.

Celtic needed a replay to reach the semi-final stage for the fifth time in the last six seasons – thumping nine-man Dundee United 4-0 after a controversial quarter-final tie at Tannadice which brought three red cards and two penalties.

Three in a row: The Norwegian will be searching for a third win in his third visit to Hampden Park this season (Picture from Sky Sports)

The 36-time Scottish Cup winners have only secured the trophy twice in the past seven seasons with the last coming under Neil Lennon in 2012-13 following a 3-0 success over Hibernian at Hampden.

Inverness, however, have not visited the national stadium since the 2003 Scottish Cup semis when they lost out to Dundee.

Since edging past Raith Rovers in the quarter-finals, Hughes’s side have won just one of their four league encounters and recorded just one victory in the last eight in all competitions.

But with the guarantee of facing Championship opposition in the May 30 final, there is a huge incentive for both sides with Inverness looking for a maiden honour and Celtic on track for a clean sweep.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:

TEAM NEWS:

Celtic boss Ronny Deila is likely to revert back to the team which drew with Inverness last Sunday after making changes for the 4-1 win over Killie in midweek.

In-form Leigh Griffiths – who has five goals in his last six games and nine in total this season – is expected to lead the line with Stefan Johansen in the attacking number 10 role.

Deila has a tough choice to make at right-back with either Efe Ambrose or Adam Matthews set to get the nod.

Inverness could name the same team which faced Celtic last Saturday which would mean on-loan Middlesbrough forward Tarmo Kink and midfielder Aaron Doran remain on the bench.

MATCH OFFICIALS:

Familiar face: McLean, 34, took charge of last season’s League Cup Final and the League Cup semi-final between Aberdeen and Dundee United in February (Picture from Sky Sports)

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